Paolo Bonatoreceived
the M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
(1989), and the Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering from Università di Roma
“La Sapienza”, Roma, Italy (1995). He serves as Director
of the Motion Analysis Laboratory at SpauldingRehabilitationHospital,
Boston, MA,
he is Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation, HarvardMedicalSchool,
and he is member of the Affiliated Faculty of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health
Sciences and Technology.

Dr. Bonato is
IEEE Senior Member, IEEE EMBS AdCom elected member, and VP of the International
Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology. He serves as Chair of the IEEE
EMBS Technical Committee on Wearable Biomedical Sensors and Systems.

Dr. Bonato is
founder and Editor-in-Chief of Journal on Neuro-Engineering and Rehabilitation
and Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation
Engineering and IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine. He
served as conference chair for the 3rd IEEE-EMBS International Summer School
and Symposium on Medical Devices and Biosensors (2006) and program co-chair for
the 4th IEEE-EMBS International Summer School and Symposium on Medical Devices
and Biosensors (2007) entitled “From Terahertz Imaging to Telehealth
Technologies”.

Dr. Bonato has
co-authored about 40 research papers and 130 conference proceedings. His
research work is focused on wearable technology and its applications in
physical medicine and rehabilitation. He has developed intelligent signal
processing tools and artificial intelligence methods for the analysis of data
recorded using wearable sensors with application to numerous clinical
conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, epilepsy, stroke, and
Parkinson’s disease.

Significant progress in computer
technologies, solid-state micro sensors, and telecommunication has advanced the
possibilities for individual health monitoring systems. A variety of compact,
unobtrusive sensors are available today and it is expected that more will be available
in the near future. This talk will discuss this rapidly evolving technology and
how to use it in order to develop wearable systems to monitor patients
undergoing rehabilitation. System configurations consisting of wireless
miniature sensors or a sensor suit that relies on e-textile solutions will be
presented in the perspective of using such tools to measure motor functions and
systemic responses during the accomplishment of motor activities. Measuring
motor functions and associated systemic responses is key in physical medicine
and rehabilitation to effectively plan and adapt clinical interventions as a
function of the observed response on a patient-by-patient basis.

Data collection and storing are
key elements of these systems.

Wearable systems often rely on
PDA’s and similar data-logging devices, i.e. means to temporarily store
physiological signals before uploading them to a server located in a clinical
center. Data uploading may occur via a wireless local network installed in the
inpatient unit or the patient’s home, which allows communication with a
clinical server via an access point. Alternatively, cell phone technology can
be used when immediate access to the clinical data is an important
consideration of the system design.

Data processing and analysis will
be discussed as a key issue to make progress toward the clinical application of
wearable systems. Procedures can rely on advanced signal processing and data
mining methods to identify features of the recorded data that capture the
desired clinical information. Development of data processing and analysis
procedures will be discussed in the context of integrating laboratory and
clinical assessments with data gathered in the field for the purpose of
designing clinical interventions aimed at enhancing mobility in individuals
with cardio-pulmonary, musculo-skeletal, and/or neurological conditions. Three
examples will be shortly discussed: predicting exacerbation episodes in
subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation,
adjusting medications in patients with late stage Parkinson’s disease, and
enhancing gait retraining in post-stroke individuals via next generation
wearable robotic devices.

Through development of innovative,
reliable, and unobtrusive means to monitor the health status of individuals in
the field, researchers are expected to provide clinicians with information
complementary to that typically gathered in clinical settings. This would
enable clinicians to more precisely tailor their rehabilitative strategies to
the daily lifestyle of the patient, and to remotely track and quantify the
patient's progression toward recovery.

Lawrence Murr is Mr. & Mrs. MacIntosh Murchison
Professor and Chairman of the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
and Ph.D. Program Director in the Materials Research & Technology Institute
at The University of Texas at El Paso.

Dr. Murr received
his B.Sc. in physical science from AlbrightCollege, and his B.S.E.E.
in electronics, his M.S. in engineering mechanics, and his Ph.D. in solid-state
science, all from the PennsylvaniaStateUniversity.Dr. Murr has taught at the PennsylvaniaStateUniversity, the
University of Southern California, New Mexico Institute of Mining and
Technology, and the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and Technology.He was Director of the JohnD.SullivanCenter
for In-Situ Mining Research, President of the New Mexico Tech Research
Foundation, and Professor and Head of the Metallurgical and Materials
Engineering Department at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.

He was a past
Chairman of the New MexicoJointCenter
for Materials Science and served as Vice President for Academic Affairs and
Research and Director of the Office of Academic and Research Programs at the
Oregon Graduate Institute, where he was also Professor of Materials Science and
Engineering.Dr. Murr has published 20
books, over 700 scientific and technical articles in a wide range of research
areas in materials science and engineering, environmental science and
engineering, manufacturing science and engineering, and biological science and
engineering.

Recent honors
include the 2001 Buehler Technical Paper Merit Award for Excellence (IMS), the
TMS 2007 Educator Award the 2007 John S. Rinehart Award (a TMS Symposium
award), and the 2008 Henry Clifton Sorby Award presented by the International
Metallographic Society (IMS) for recognition of lifetime achievement in the
field of metallurgy.Professor Murr is also
a Fellow of ASM International.

Health Effects of Nanoparticulate Materials

Lawrence Murr, PhD

Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

University of Texas at El Paso,
El Paso, TX79968USA

Over a period of at least 2000
years, chrysotile (serpentine) asbestos ((Mg3Si2O5) (OH)4 nanotubes with ~30 nm
diameters and features similar to carbon nanotubes) has found at least 2000
applications ranging from toothpaste to roofing tiles to chlorine manufacture;
a viable and preferred process even today.

But despite its continued versatility,
chrysotile asbestos has killed tens of thousands over more than 2 millennia
(nearly 10,000 between 1987 and 1996 alone; of which half were malignant
neoplasms of the pleura).Today, after
serious health awareness costing billions of dollars in the U.S. in the
decade of the 1990’s, nearly 1 million metric tons continue to be
utilized.The multifunctionality of
asbestos is currently predicted for multiwall carbon nanotubes, but we find
them to be cytotoxic to human lung cells.

Furthermore, they are ubiquitous in
the air, both indoor and outdoor.In
fact, amongst a wide range of carbon nanoparticle species-natural gas soots,
candle soot, tire soot, wood soot, diesel soot, etc., optimally burning natural
gas emissions in a kitchen (which consist of complex nanospheres composing soot
as well as multiwall carbon nanotubes) are particularly cytotoxic.Many other common nanoparticles
characteristic of natural minerals (such as hematite, Fe2O3) in the environment
are also cytotoxic, and many of these nanoparticulate materials are used in
numerous commercial products.

These issues and the collection
and observation of nanoparticulate materials will be described in this
presentation.

Subrata Saha is presently the Director of
Musculoskeletal Research and Research Professor in the Department of
Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation Medicine at SUNYDownstateMedicalCenter
in Brooklyn, New York.

Dr. Saha received
a BS in Civil Engineering from CalcuttaUniversity in 1963, an MS
in Engineering Mechanics in 1969 from TennesseeTechnologicalUniversity, and
Engineering and PhD degrees in Applied Mechanics from StanfordUniversity
in 1972 and 1974, respectively. He has been a faculty member at Yale
University, LouisianaStateUniversityMedicalCenter,
LomaLindaUniversity,
ClemsonUniversity, and AlfredUniversity.

Dr. Saha has
received many awards from professional societies, including Orthopedic Implant
Award, Dr. C. P. Sharma Award, Researcher of the Year Award, C. William Hall
Research Award in Biomedical Engineering, Award for Faculty Excellence,
Research Career Development Award from NIH, and Engineering Achievement Award.
He is a Fellow of The Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), The American
Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and the American Institute for Medical
and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).

He has received
numerous research grants from federal agencies (NIH and NSF), foundations, and
industry. Dr. Saha is the founder of the Southern Biomedical Engineering
Conference Series. He also started the International Conference on Ethical
Issues in Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Saha has published over 90 papers in
journals, 35 book chapters and edited volumes, 347 papers in conference
proceedings, and 84 abstracts. His research interests are bone mechanics,
biomaterials, orthopedic and dental implants, drug delivery systems,
rehabilitation engineering, and bioethics.

Dr. Saha is
presently the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Long-Term Effects of Medical
Implants and Associate Editor of the International Journal of Medical Implants
& Devices and was an Associate Editor of the Annals of Biomedical
Engineering and Trends in Biomaterials and Artificial Organs. He has been a
Member of the Editorial Boards of many journals, including Journal of Biomedical
Materials Research; Medical Engineering and Physics; Journal of Applied
Biomaterials; Medical Design and Material; Biomaterials, Artificial Cells, and
Immobilization Biotechnology; Biomaterials, Medical Device and Artificial
Organs; Journal of Bioengineering, Biotelemetry and Patient Monitoring; Journal
of Basic & Applied Biomedicine and TM Journal.

Ethics and Biomedical Engineering Research

Subrata Saha, PhD

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation
Medicine

SUNYDownstateMedicalCenter

Brooklyn, New York11203

During the last fifty years, the
field of biomedical engineering has been largely responsible for the dramatic
advances in modern medicine.These
includes advanced therapeutic and diagnostic techniques (e.g. total joint replacements,
heart-lung machines, artificial heart, computed tomography and magnetic
resonance imaging) and that in turn has significantly improved the life span
and quality of life of our patients.However, biomedical technology has also contributed to new ethical
dilemmas and has challenged some of our moral values.

These include clinical trials of
new devices and implants, confidentiality, conflict of interest issues, animal
experimentation, university-industry relationships, genetic engineering and
challenges associated with nanotechnology.To face these and other emerging ethical challenges, biomedical
engineers need training and education in ethics.

These issues and the need for a
universal Code of Ethics for bioengineering will be discussed.

Ryan Wicker is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering
and Director and Founder of the W.M.KeckCenter
for 3D Innovation at the University
of Texas at El Paso where he also
holds the endowed Mr. and Mrs. MacIntosh Murchison Chair I in Engineering.Dr. Wicker attended the University of Texas
at Austin
between 1983 and 1987, receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical
Engineering with Highest Honors in 1987.

Upon graduation,
Dr. Wicker worked for two years as an Engineering Thermodynamic Analyst with
General Dynamics Fort Worth Division before going to Stanford in 1989 where he
earned both his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering.After receiving his Ph.D. in 1994, Dr. Wicker
joined the faculty at UTEP and returned to El Paso where his children are now the fifth
generation of his family calling El
Paso home.

In 2000, Dr.
Wicker founded a new layered manufacturing laboratory with the purchase of a
single commercial additive layered manufacturing machine.The laboratory, now named the W.M. Keck
Center for 3D Innovation (Keck Center) as a result of a $1 million grant
received in 2002 from the W.M. Keck Foundation, now occupies over 6,100 square
feet of floor space, has more than $4.5 million in research infrastructure, and
represents the premier University facility of its kind in the world.Researchers in the Keck Center have access to
combined facilities for advanced manufacturing; reverse engineering, metrology
& inspection; materials characterization & testing; experimental fluid
mechanics (cardiovascular flows); and tissue engineering (including scaffold
fabrication, polymer synthesis and cell culture capabilities).

Much of the
research within the Center relies on the development and creative use of
additive layered manufacturing technologies for producing functional end-use
devices, and the Center’s commercial layered manufacturing capabilities have
grown from 1 machine in 2000 to 21 machines today (9 stereolithography, 5 fused
deposition modeling, 1 selective laser sintering, 3 3D printer, 1 electron beam
melting, and 2 patent pending technologies, including a multiple material
stereolithography machine and an integrated manufacturing environment where a
3-axis direct write fluid dispensing system is combined with a stereolithography
machine).

These technologies
are being used to manufacture patient-specific anatomical shapes for use in
pre-surgical planning, surgery, medical device development, cardiovascular flow
research, tissue engineering, and more.

Biomedical Frontiers in Additive Layered Manufacturing

Ryan Wicker, PhD

Director, W.M.KeckCenter
for 3D Innovation, Mechanical Engineering

University of Texas at El Paso,
El PasoTexas79968

Additive layered manufacturing
technologies also known as rapid prototyping, direct digital manufacturing,
solid freeform fabrication, and other names are technologies that allow for
fabrication of complex three-dimensional (3D) shapes by successively
manufacturing thin slices of a desired object and stacking them together one
layer at a time.Commercial additive
layered manufacturing (LM) systems, originally introduced in the mid 1980s,
have been traditionally used for prototyping in the automotive, medical device,
aerospace, space, toy and other industries.Since their introduction, considerable advancements in processing speed,
accuracy, and capacity have been achieved and the materials available for use
with LM technologies have expanded a great deal, enabling customized end-use
products to be directly manufactured on LM machines in a wide range of
applications.

In parallel, researchers have used
and developed new LM technologies to take advantage of the layer-based
manufacturing method and access to individual layers during fabrication to
manufacture unique, multi-material 3D devices.Using these technologies, there are enumerable opportunities for
improving medicine through pre-surgical modeling, custom surgical
instrumentation, tissue engineered implants, and a variety of fundamental
research applications, and it is these opportunities that motivate the
biomedical engineering focus of the multi-disciplinary research pursued within
the W.M.KeckCenter
for 3D Innovation (KeckCenter) at the University of Texas at El Paso.

The Keck Center represents the
premier facility of its kind in the world occupying over 6,100-square-feet with
combined facilities for advanced manufacturing, cardiovascular hemodynamics
(experimental fluid mechanics), and tissue engineering (including polymer
synthesis, scaffold fabrication and cell culture capabilities).This Center provides examples of how
multi-disciplinary work expands horizons and presents new opportunities for
diverse biomedical research, teaching, outreach, and entrepreneurship.LM technologies are being used to fabricate
patient-specific anatomical shapes for use in pre-surgical planning, surgery,
medical device development, cardiovascular flow research, tissue engineering,
and more.The opportunities for LM in
biomedical and other applications continue to expand as the achievable features
sizes that can be fabricated continue to decrease, the number of materials
available for use increases, and new strategies for integrating LM technologies
with other manufacturing technologies in custom applications are successfully
demonstrated.This presentation will
provide an overview of the exciting activities underway and technologies used
within the KeckCenter directed at biomedical research
and improving patient outcomes.